Sheribear68

Good luck and let us know how it went. I returned to work last Tuesday and managed to pull three 10 hour shifts in a row. It was rough because I’m on my feet the whole time and there is quite a bit of bending low and stretching up, but I was so happy that I managed to do it and being back at work has really helped with my mental health. It’s one step closer to “ normal” and I was feeling like such a slug by not working. I’ve worked about 50 hours a week for the last 30 years. The last time I took this much time off of work was when I had my daughter in 1997.

I too am craving veggies-especially salad. OMG, I would probably trade my first born for a giant wedge salad! Now that being said, I’m 25 days out and finishing week 2 of purées and there is simply no way I could fit any vegetables in on top of the protein I’m eating. I’m thinking that the biggest reason they say no veg in the first 6 weeks is because if you eat veg, there won’t be room for anything else

I was also told that fiber was a no-go

Lol, the yeast infection hit 3 days after surgery when I had yet to eat anything so I’m thinking it’s not sugar. 😂😂😂

Honestly it just kinda “happened” a couple of days ago. I still can’t stomach more than 1/4 cup before noon, but by lunch and dinner, I’ve drank enough and I walk enough since I’ve gone back to work that it’s easier. I’m on my feet for my entire work shift - between 10-12 hours- so the food and water go better the longer I’m on my feet.

You know, the more pizzaz I give something, the easier it goes down. Earlier this week we made tuna steaks and I shredded mine up with a small bit of wasabi mustard and it was excellent. Disclaimer: I LOVE spicy food so this is how I would’ve had it pre-surgery.

One thing I’ve noticed is that food goes down easier as the day goes on. In the morning I need to drink at least 12 ounces water or else breakfast just won’t go down. Also, I can’t eat nearly as much as I can for lunch or dinner. I’m to the point now where I can barely squeeze in 1/4 cup food for breakfast and about 1/2 cup lunch and dinner. PROGRESS. yay I also make sure to drink 1 to 2 glasses fairlife milk daily to help keep up with protein. still haven’t even tried to eat anything other than protein. Last night my husband and I made a hamburger casserole from a recipe from keto daily. Some of their recipes can tend to be fatty, but we used 93/7 ground beef and half the recommended cheese and it turned out pretty good.

Well I had breast cancer at the age of 40 back in ‘09 and made the choice after all the chemo and radiation that since one of them tried to kill me, I was done with them. Before diagnosis, I was 230 pounds and still carrying G-cups. Since I had breast cancer, I got “free” reduction surgery and went from DDD to a B cup in a morning. 9 years later this is still the best decision I ever made, but the dramatic difference in my profile took some getting used to. I was actually heavier after chemo than before (gained 10 pounds) but now since I just got sleeved 3 weeks ago I do kinda wonder what’s going to happen to the lil ole Bs I have now. I’m kinda worried that they will completely disappear, but if they do I know I’ll still be so much healthier for it

Following this as I’ve been struggling with this issue as well. Was sleeved 2/6, and had a horrible thrush infection 3 days post-op that we’ve used oral lozenges and diflucan for and it’s come back twice..... second time it came back down below also so I’m taking a couple more diflucan AND using monistat. The worst part is I eat some kind of yogurt almost every day

I started walking on my treadmill 3 days post-op. Now that was at an extremely low pace and I started with just 20 minutes and worked myself up to an hour at a time within a couple of weeks. I’m still only 24 days post-op, but I signed up for Pilates class yesterday and the instructors are going to work with me until my core is stronger so there are many work arounds as you build strength. One thing I’m going to avoid for the rest of my life is anything resembling HIIT as there are some exercise physiologists and docs who think that HIIT can actually cause fat storage in people who are genetic “storers”. All I know is that anytime in the past that I tried HIIT, I would get ravenously hungry and eventually would overeat so this time around I’m not going to try it again.

Yeah the first few days on purées are tough. Got sleeved on 2/6, and have been on purées for 11 days now and just got comfortable with it in the last couple of days. Focus on water and protein and the process will eventually sort itself out. FWIW, I feel so much better from this time last week. Pretty sure you guys are about to turn a corner with this

My pleasure! This is such an important and wonderful process that we’re all going through and it’s not for wussies!!! All of us here have made a life-altering medical decision and we will be better for it. I’m trying my best to journal my own journey through this process, but being here with all of you wonderfully brave people is such a HUGE help. FYI, I was sleeved 2/6 and it already feels like soooo long ago.

Yeah. First few days of purée stage was tough because I could barely eat without a really full feeling and I made the mistake of wasting valuable stomach space on soft veggies. It gets easier because your new digestive system has to relearn how to handle food again

About to finish my purée stage in a few days. It’s been challenging because the first few days anything other than liquids really filled me up and it’s been difficult to get in Protein. My advice is start slowly and try to limit your intake to protein only. The first couple days I tried to add in soft veggies because it seems like it makes more sense to try to get in a balanced diet, but then my protein intake took a nosedive and I had a stall. It was weird at first, but I started eating meals like 1/4 cup tuna mashed with Greek yogurt or 1 scrambled egg, or ounce ground beef and 1/2 ounce goat cheese, etc.... I have to trust that my bariatric Vitamins will carry me through until I have room for other nutrients besides all protein. Oh, and my “snack” is 8 ounces fairlife milk, between lunch and dinner. Usually with that I can now hit protein requirements (60gram according to my NUT) and not compromise Water intake (80 ounces or more daily). Just looked over my food logs and I’m actually consuming way less carbs daily than I was on the liquid phase. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you a few days to a week to figure out what your body can deal with during this phase.

I too transition to soft food in just a few days, but I’m not too worried because I’m having a real hard time taking in over 1/4 cup at a time anyway, which means pretty much all I have room for is protein. I just started being able to hit my protein goals starting Monday - thank goodness for fairlife milk— so I just can’t see how I’m gonna fit in any carbs. Okay, so who all of us February sleevers are able to hold more than that? I’m kinda getting tired of eating a few bites and feeling “thanksgiving dinner” full

Okay so my weight loss fell off of a cliff immediately post-op. Lost 23 pounds in 12 days. Then I went 3 days in a row at the exact same weight. So I avoided the scale until I could button and zip a pair of pants that I could barely pull up when the stall started and it took me 9 days. Got on the scale this morning and I had dropped 2 more pounds since the stall began. I also measured my waist and had dropped 1.5 inches since the stall began. Now its mathematically impossible to lose 1.5 inches off of your waist and only drop 2 pounds so that means my body is adjusting and during this adjustment period the scale isn’t moving a lot. However I’m really pleased that clothes fit looser than they did last week. Honestly I would get on the scale once a week AT THE MOST, and use other tools to monitor progress. For example, can you now climb a flight of stairs with less effort? All of these things are so much more important than that scale number and I know that as long as I follow program, those numbers will eventually start decreasing

I’m so sorry that you’re struggling with these demons Emzbee. Okay so if this is something that you discussed with your therapist before surgery, I’d recommend going back and employing some of the strategies you guys discussed. If that isn’t the case, maybe simply taking out a journal and listing all of the reasons why you’ve done this in the first place. I know that when I write, I can put myself in a better frame of mind. I can get out all of the negative thoughts and once they’ve gone from inside my head to out on a piece of paper it helps If none of those things are options, know that we are here for you

Yes!!! Walking is soooooo important. I got on my treadmill on day 3 post-op and walked for 20 minutes at 2mph. The next day I walked for a half hour and today I’m 20 days post and just finished walking for an hour at 3.5. I definitely am convinced that the walking greatly helped me drink more. Anymore, I grab a 20oz water and tell myself I can’t get off that treadmill until the water is finished 😂😂

Don’t feel bad. The single most Important thing you can do is drink drink drink. Put water before protein or even vitamins right now if you have to. Water is THE MOST IMPORTANT. I was only able to out down about 15gm protein per day for the first 7-10 days. It gets better and the feeling of “going to explode” subsides. I’m now 6 days into my purée food phase and can only put down 45 grams protein daily. I know it is “supposed” to be higher, but I drink at least 80 ounces of water daily and my new stomach just can’t hold more than 1/4 cup of food at a time. It’s okay though. I know that just a few weeks hitting under the mark in protein isn’t going to hurt me and I focus daily on eating protein only. Lol, my meals are things like 1/3 pouch tuna, mixed with a tablespoon Greek yogurt and topped with a couple spoonfuls of cottage cheese. Not even close to 20gm protein, but I have to choose priorities. Tonite I’m gonna have goat cheese with 1 ounce chopped lean pork loin. There just isn’t room for veggies right now so I’m depending on my vitamins to carry the load until I can eat 80 gm protein daily without it being an almighty struggle.

You got this! Can’t wait to hear from you once you feel like posting

Hmmm. I’m still on the puréed stage, but my doc said 3 meals, zero snacks. Which is extremely difficult to get in protein requirements bc I can’t eat a lot. However, seeing as I have to wait 30 mins before and after eating, I don’t see how it’s possible to fit in snacks unless I cut down on sleep

Oh and I forgot to add... pretty sure this is why I’m struggling so hard to meet protein goals. Most days it’s a success if I hit 40gm protein bc I don’t have the “patience” to take what seems like forever to eat

I do the same thing! Since it’s impossible to rush through the eating, I usually give up and set my timer for 30 minutes so I at least can start drinking again

So I see a lot of us February sleevers are getting a bit discouraged by the scale. I’d like to start a mini-challenge: I decided Thursday I wasn’t going to weigh myself until I fit into my next size smaller pants because seeing a stall just almost wrecked me. Who else wants to join me in this?

Yes. Had a 2 hour layover between flights and just had the BEST lunch. Hubs ordered bruschetta and I had some tomato and goat cheese and then we ordered lamb meatballs. Lol, was only able to eat 1/2 meatball and some cheese and tomato, but it was delicious. Now rested and ready to get on the second flight home